Norwegian spy asks Putin for clemency

Ilya Novikov, the lawyer of Norwegian citizen Frode Berg, who was convicted in Russia for espionage, sent a petition to Russian President Vladimir Putin asking for clemency.

"Yes, that is true, Berg has filed a request for a presidential pardon," said Novikov, as reports TASS news agency. Novikov declined further comment.

In April this year, Frode Berg was sentenced to 14 years in prison for alleged espionage against the Russian Federation. The trial was held in closed session due to the presence of "classified" materials in the case.

Frode Berg was detained in Moscow on December 5, 2017, during a special operation of the Russian Federal Security Service. He was accused of gathering information about Russian nuclear submarines, which he received from an employee of a defense enterprise operating under the Intelligence agencies of Russia. He admitted that he went to Russia at the request of members of the Norwegian Intelligence Service, and was acting as a courier, but did not fully understand what he was doing, and did not realize the possible consequences of his actions.